Blazer Chalet / GMC Jimmy Casa Grande spotted

[beags86]

Couldn't you get those mirrors in 76?
I thought you could. It was all option based.
Either the standard mirrors, sport mirrors, or the three leg post (I think they were called) "west coast" mirrors.

 

[a77blazerchalet]

Couldn't you get those mirrors in 76? ... all option based.
Either the standard mirrors, sport mirrors, or the three leg post (I think they were called) "west coast" mirrors.

Aha, that might have been a misconception I've had all this time. If so, I stand corrected and will fix my mega-spreadsheet list where my notes call these 'later model'. All '76 Chalets and Casa Grandes were painted basically the same color combo, so the mirror style was one way I can tell these apart from each other. I assumed they all came with the 3-leg post mirrors.

 

[beags86]

I would assume that they were optioned that way because of the camper, but one or two guys might not have like those mirrors.

Sport mirrors.


Standard mirrors


I am no authority on this at all.
Just my opinion.
I have seen some sport mirrors on some odd things. And the west coast style as well.

But one cannot know if the vehicle has has a mirror or door swap.

My stupid dump truck has like c60/70 or topkick/Kodiak mirrors on it. Bolted on next to the standard mirrors.


Which are different again from the West coast style.

 

[a77blazerchalet]

Good question. Asked our man Dremu here about such rounder larger mirrors, and he says they don't show up in brochures until 1982, and I found that just now too in his collection in the '82 Blazer one, where it shows the "Outfitting your new Blazer" page, item #8 as "below eyeline mirrors." Not to worry, all of us can get to the bottom of this bit of history.

 

[beags86]

The only problem with that is.. gm used the same trucks in those adds. Those adds where not "new" every year.

I know @82355 knows lot about them and different things. About year, trim package etc.

And actually those mirrors show up in '80

But I am not fully convinced you couldn't order them if you knew your way around the order sheet.

 

[AbramJ]

As far as I know those "sport" mirrors were the standard mirrors. Your only other options is 1976 were the below eye line (three point tripod) and camper (the big four point). Those are the only mirrors my brochures and sales book indicate. The West coast style mirrors are the trucker (big rig) mirrors.

The mirrors on that chalet don't show up in brochures until 1980 and it seems they replaced the three point (tripod) mirrors.

Pictures: 1. standard (sport), 2. below eyeline (up to 1980), 3. camper, 4. West coast, and 5. below eyeline (1980+)



This is all based on what I've seen and read in brochures, sales books, and on real trucks.

 

[AbramJ]

I don't know why the pictures are there twice

 

[Rabb91]

Here's another.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/1977-Chevrole...3D252940631631&_trksid=p2056116.c100408.m2460

 

[beags86]

That's the same one as listed above.

 

[Rabb91]

Ah. My bad. Looks like the price has dropped.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/252927720303

 

[chalet2506]

Mansfield, Tx divorced camper.

https://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/rvs/6077664746.html

 

[a77blazerchalet]

Well, just spotted on this one. The other somewhat interchangeable "tracking Chalets" thread seems to have gone mostly toward folks alerting me to rigs and orphaned camper units seen out there for sale. Chalet #1221, built in 9/76 here is one I sorta already had in my mega-spreadsheet list since August, but only as a mystery rig at a 4-photo Instagram page that was being worked on in somebody's shop. Bugged me for a while that there was something strange with the photos, then I figured out that the color order top-to-bottom of the vinyl stripes was reversed from factory original, like what's seen in this old Chevy ad. Darker / medium / light. Now, in today's brief rummage through a photos search at Facebook for these rigs, I found this video ...

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=214405743572974

...where the serial number plate is shown among the other views. The last 10 or so seconds of the video are a bit scary for me, because I see the roof trying hard to go sailing. I figured out who the current owner is, they fortunately have a business FB page, so I sent them an alert about tying down the roof tighter, and one of the workers said he'd notify his boss.

Dunno .... jury's still out on donk-style wheels for these? Call me outdated last century out-of-style if I ask about that....

 

[ZooMad75]

The 24" wheels made to look like steelies and caps looks horrible to me. Between the super low profile tires and sky-high arched springs it's got to ride like a horse-drawn wagon on wooden wheels.

The truck/camper does look nice but the wheels just ruin the look.

No kidding on the roof trying to go into parachute mode. It was ready to deploy!

 

[azblazer]

The 24" wheels made to look like steelies and caps looks horrible to me. Between the super low profile tires and sky-high arched springs it's got to ride like a horse-drawn wagon on wooden wheels.

The truck/camper does look nice but the wheels just ruin the look.

No kidding on the roof trying to go into parachute mode. It was ready to deploy!

It would be slightly more palitable if they had painted the wheels in one of the two body colors....

 

[ZooMad75]

It would be slightly more palitable if they had painted the wheels in one of the two body colors....

Nope. Paint them any color you want. Still fugly.